Advertisement

Young bear in a pear tree near Chilliwack school finally comes down

It’s not unusual to see a bear up a tree, but one bear cub in Chilliwack has now left his high perch after being there for a few weeks.

The little bear had settled in the tree near McCammon Elementary School and had been gorging on fruit for the winter.

Despite setting traps to catch the bear, the cub climbed down the tree sometime on Tuesday and wandered into the bush.

McCammon Elementary School principal Charlotte DeBruyn said on Oct. 16 she was quite surprised when she first heard about the animal. “I thought he would be gone the next day, [but] when I got to school he was still there,” she said.

The school had been sectioning off that area of the playground and DeBruyn said she was keeping an eye on the bear and the kids in the playground.

Story continues below advertisement

“It’s been a great learning opportunity for our students,” she said. “First of all, they’re quite surprised, like I was, to see a bear staying a week at school. They’ve been writing stories about the bear, they’ve been observing the bear, we do bear walks and they’ve been quite intrigued by the bear.”

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

The kids were also taught that they live among bears and it’s important to respect their space and the way they live.

There are reports the bear’s mom was killed and the cub was waiting for her to come back. Someone had also been seen climbing up a ladder and leaving food for the cub every night.

Conservation officers were aware of the bear and kept checking on it everyday.

Conservation officer Steve Jacobi said the bear has been eating the pears and is staying at the very top of the tree.

“As far as [conservation officers] are concerned, it’s not a public safety concern,” he said.
Story continues below advertisement

Jacobi said it is not unusual for a bear to stay in a tree, eating the fruit.

There were plans to take the tree down so that the bear could move on and find a new food source, farther away from humans.

Sponsored content

AdChoices